Our Family Has Fallen

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Crisis of Trust_1

”HAHAHA! Only a child like you would believe those guys. See, who else believes them?” the man scorned, sweeping his knife in a gesture towards the surrounding crowd, his face twisted into a bizarre, convulsive laughter.

The villagers nearby fell into silence upon hearing these words. They wanted to believe; after all, only under the Lord’s protection could they survive the bandits’ plundering. Yet, most remained silent, and some even displayed clear distrust.

It was at that moment that someone stood up.

”I believe him,” the captain, supporting himself with a wooden staff, limped forward. ”I believe the Lord will drive away those bandits.”

Susan, seeing the captain emerge, suddenly had a realization. It was the man My Lord had rescued from the bandits!

Indeed, the others did not know that My Lord had been making arrangements against the bandits all this time, and she herself had personally tended to the women who were rescued.

On this basis alone, My Lord would not abandon them lightly, so how could she doubt My Lord?

Thinking this, Susan also understood and began to reassure the people.

”I can reveal here that My Lord has always been making plans against the bandits, and he will not abandon us.”

Susan held a special position. She had always been the Butler responsible for conveying My Lord’s plans, so in the current situation, her words carried great persuasive power.

If she said so, then it was so. The villagers still wanted to trust the Lord; after all, he was their only reliance, while the bandits would only rob and slaughter.

”Shut up! You’re still trying to deceive us!” the man became agitated, pressing the knife against Susan’s neck and drawing a thin line of blood. ”Order them to step aside!”

But by then, Susan had solidified her trust in My Lord and was not at all afraid of the threat of death. Instead, she shouted commands.

”Don’t mind me! If you catch him, My Lord will not blame you.”

The people immediately turned their gaze upon the man.

Now, the man completely lost his composure, unable to believe that these people still trusted that noble.

”Don’t come any closer!” the man waved the knife in his hand.

But what ordinary villager had the courage to confront this fellow? Only the captain walked towards him alone. He did not know why, but he wanted to do something for these people, to make up for his intense guilt. He took five steps... then three more.

The captain suddenly stopped and said to the man,

”You’re already dead...”

”What!” The man suddenly realized something and tried to retract the knife to threaten Susan.

But the captain was faster, his wooden staff cutting through the air with a WHOOSHING sound.

”Ah!” The next second, the man let out a scream as the knife fell to the ground.

By the time the others reacted, they could see that the hand which had held the knife was now a mangled mess of blood and flesh; he was clutching his arm and howling in pain.

Looking at the captain again, they now had a different understanding.

To be honest, no one had expected this dejected man, who could barely walk steadily, to possess such strength.

Susan freed herself from the man’s grip, picked up the knife from the ground, and turned back to give an order.

”Catch this guy!”

The man, now unarmed, posed no threat and was easily subdued.

However, the pain only made him struggle and shout his defiance even louder.

”Over a hundred experienced mercenaries couldn’t stop those bandits, and you actually believe in those new recruits who’ve barely trained for a couple of weeks?

If you don’t believe my words today, when the bandits blow open the gate, you’ll all have to be buried with me!

Be buried with me!”

Everyone inside was extremely anxious because they couldn’t control their own fate and could only rely on others.

Contrarily, the captain seemed very calm.

This man’s words could only scare ordinary people; how could he not know the real situation?

Every sentence the man boasted about hundreds of bandits, artillery, and muskets was a slap in his face.

The Lord had used just a small strategy to make him and those Barbarians fight to a standstill, with both sides suffering heavy losses.

Among all the bandits, only their two organized groups had muskets, armor, and artillery. Did he not know the rest, that worthless rabble, lacked even decent weapons and armor, and would be useless even if there were a hundred of them?

Moreover, the Lord had captured so many firearms, ammunition, weapons, and armor that with these resources and thirty men, he was confident he could stop the bandits.

Not to mention that among the Lord’s men were several elites no less formidable than himself, each a veteran of a hundred battles, whose roles in special situations could be immensely significant.

Holding the stone bridge until nightfall and then deploying small troops to harass them was all it would take. Just firing a few shots would be enough to demoralize the bandits and secure victory without a fight.

The captain had heard of the Lord’s deeds from many people. If these commoners couldn’t see it, wouldn’t he, a graduate from the Empire’s military academy, understand?

To stabilize the town quickly and eliminate threats, demonstrating both civil and military prowess, was no small feat; these bandits were hardly a concern.

Susan wanted to speak up to calm everyone down, but unexpectedly, the church door was pounded upon, followed by shouting voices.

”Open the door!”

This commotion instantly drew everyone’s attention, and the bound man let out a wild laugh.

”HAHAHA! Here they come, here they come! None of you will escape...”

The others didn’t have much contact with My Lord, let alone those by his side, but Susan recognized Dismas’s voice and promptly reassured everyone.

”Don’t worry, it’s one of My Lord’s men.”

Saying this, Susan approached and asked, ”Who’s there?”

”I’m Dismas! Open the door quickly!”

Once certain it was him, Susan quickly directed everyone to clear the clutter and open the main door.

Waiting was torturous. When the doors opened to reveal only Dismas outside, it made everyone anxious.

”Where is My Lord? How is the situation? Did we hold them off? Have the bandits left?” Susan asked urgently. She and everyone else felt the same, eager to know the situation at the front.

”’Hold them off?’ Not a single bandit left. They’ve all stayed,” Dismas replied with a strange look, seemingly perplexed by their questions.

Hearing this, everyone’s faces turned deathly pale. Hearing the bandits hadn’t left, they didn’t dare leave the church.

On the contrary, the captive man started to taunt loudly.

”HAHAHA! I told you! How could those guys be a match for the bandits? You fools actually believed in that Lord!”

Dismas noticed this man and furrowed his brow, but his previously interrupted words still spilled out.

”Under My Lord’s leadership, we annihilated the bandits. Not a single one will leave Hamlet alive.”